Does it seem to you like there is far more strife within America in the last few years? Brother against brother, women against men, parents against children, neighbor against neighbor, race against race, faith against faith …

You’re not imagining things. It’s happening. And a great deal of this strife can be directly or indirectly traced back to the government and its programs.

How? Let’s examine this.

It is the natural course for government (any government, really) to gain power by dismantling or neutralizing any restrictions placed upon it. In America, those restrictions are found in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

But the government can’t just declare the Constitution null and void. Too sudden, too dangerous. Instead, it must incrementally remove these restrictions by fomenting dissension among citizens, using divisive tactics, and then proposing the suspension of certain liberties in the name of “safety” or “fairness.”

The plan is deceptively simple. The first thing to do is create dependency whenever possible. The government has done this by pushing (actively pushing) welfare on any and all who want it. By removing the incentive to work, eradicating the need for fathers and subsidizing unwed motherhood, the government has created a multi-generational dependent class rife with poverty, apathy, violence and criminal behavior.

Next, nurture distrust between economic levels. By implying that the economic playing field should be leveled (regardless of effort) and the rich should “pay their fair share” (regardless of reality), the twin sins of envy and greed are cultivated. Productive citizens are punished for their success, and unproductive citizens are encouraged to take without earning. Imagine what this does to personal incentive on either end of the spectrum.

Next, discourage entrepreneurship by imposing insane and unnecessary bureaucratic red tape on businesses to keep us all “safe” from any harm and make things “fair” to anyone whose feelings get hurt. This discourages the free market and makes room for state-controlled monopolies.

Next, reduce the need for self-control. By removing the consequences of poor decisions, the government breeds indulgence, decadence and selfishness. Self-disciplined people are self-governed. Those without self-control need strong government to control them. The more personal responsibility our government can convince us to surrender, the more power it obtains over us.

Next, cultivate hatred between racial groups. “Obama has repeatedly returned to the well of racial divisiveness to serve his political ends,” notes Ann Coulter, and this administration has certainly seen far more racial violence and tension than any time since the Civil Rights Movement of the ’60s (but without the noble motivation).

Next, take hold of the children. Progressive indoctrination in government schools has been taking place for decades. Children are imprisoned and subject to mind control to the extent that even nibbling a Pop-Tart into the shape of a gun can get a kid into trouble. Children are trained to passively submit to violations of their free speech (stifling any references to God, pro-life sentiments, or patriotic expressions) and to submit to violations of their persons and property (metal detectors, locker searches, urine tests). And they are taught only a progressive agenda, often in defiance of parental values and always in defiance of civilized and decent behavior.

Next, plunge the nation into debt so massive that an economic collapse is a statistical certainty. The scale of societal upheaval (in commerce, transportation, and justice) in the aftermath of such a collapse has no precedent in America.

Next, water down the right of self-defense by claiming certain pieces of metal are evil in and of themselves, and therefore illegal for any civilian to own. Only elites and their guards are permitted to own them.

Next, demonize gun owners. Categorize trained veterans as mentally unstable and therefore unfit to possess firearms. Confiscate weapons from any citizen speaking his mind in public or seeking medical care.

Next, use crude, offensive and sneering labels for anyone who opposes these tactics. The most popular labels include racists, birthers, teabaggers, right-wing nutjobs, fanatics, tinfoil hat wearers, conspiracy theorists, etc. I’m sure you can think of more.

And above all, be patient. The government can afford to take 50 years to create a dependent class. It can afford to wait a few generations to breed out any vestiges of pride or self-reliance in children, their parents and their grandparents.

These divide-and-conquer strategies work. They keep the masses bickering among themselves. And while we the people quarrel with each other, our attention is diverted away from the government, which is gradually dismantling the Constitution and implementing anti-constitutional legislation to control us. All for our own good, of course.

When the dependent class gives in to violence and begins rioting, the government will find it convenient to intervene. Perhaps they will implement martial law or impose gun confiscation on everyone (not just rioters) to calm the masses and reduce strife… the very strife the government purposely created.

Always, always, it comes down to self-defense. As long as its citizens are armed, no government can succeed to despotism. That’s why they spend generations training children about the evils of guns. That’s why they’re hostile to patriotic families. That’s why they sneer at veterans and tell them they’re too mentally unstable to own firearms. That’s why our politicians, public schools and other federal branches demonize guns and gun owners at every possible opportunity. The government must disarm us, whatever it takes.

But I have hope for our future, and I’ll tell you why: America is unique among nations. We do not have deep roots of meek obedience and passivity in the face of government abuse. At heart, we remain a stubborn and independent people. While the flicker of autonomy has been forever quashed in some, for most of us that irrepressible spark can never be fully eradicated. Our heritage of freedom, liberty, self-reliance and sheer orneriness will eventually rise.

When it does, our own government might be shocked and appalled at the unified spirit of opposition that will sweep our country, bypassing liberal bastions but rooting deep in the heartland.

And if the government elites come for our guns, they’re going to find themselves facing a conflagration larger than anything they could ever imagine. By and large, the heartland of America hasn’t been brainwashed into the progressive groupthink that’s been so successful in the cities.

When it comes time to reclaim our country, we’ll be ready. We’ll no longer be brother against brother, blacks against whites, rich against poor, elite against the masses.

We’ll be patriots against tyranny. Just as America has always been.

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